Do you freeze up when a stranger asks what you write? Does the idea of sitting at a banquet table making small talk for two hours make you want to cry? Do you write characters that chat with ease and then wonder why you, a real, actual person, sound awkward and silly? Me too. Or at least I used to feel that way. Until I learned some valuable tricks to survive social interactions without feeling tongue-tied.This handy guide will teach you how to network with other writers and readers at conventions, conferences, and booksignings as well as on social media.These easy techniques, perfected by a true writer-nerd (*waves*), cover how and what to say in order to sell your books as well as yourself at any function, even the dreaded elevator pitch. Never feel awkward again. Okay, never feel awkward again while networking with fellow writers or readers. I can't do anything about those times when you trip over your own feet, spill coffee down your shirt, or worse, walk around with a whole spinach salad in your teeth. That's on you.